When the Bough Breaks: An Alex Delaware Novel, Book 1

Dr. Morton Handler practiced a strange brand of psychiatry. Among his specialties were fraud, extortion, and sexual manipulation. Handler paid for his sins when he was brutally murdered in his luxurious Pacific Palisades apartment. The police have no leads, but they do have one possible witness: seven-year-old Melody Quinn.

True Detectives: A Novel

In Jonathan Kellerman's gripping novels, the city of Los Angeles is as much a living, breathing character as the heroes and villains who roam its labyrinthine streets. Sunny on the surface but shadowy beneath, this world of privilege and pleasure has a dark core and a dangerous edge. In True Detectives, Kellerman skillfully brings his renowned gifts for breathless suspense and sharp psychological insight to a tale that resonates on every level and satisfies at every turn.

Crime Scene: A Novel

Eccentric, reclusive Walter Rennert lies cold at the bottom of his stairs. At first glance the scene looks straightforward: a once-respected psychology professor done in by booze and a bad heart. But his daughter, Tatiana, insists that her father has been murdered, and she persuades Clay Edison to take a closer look at the grim facts of Rennert's life. What emerges is a history of scandal and violence and an experiment gone horribly wrong that ended in the brutal murder of a coed.

The Golem of Hollywood

A burned-out L.A. detective...a woman of mystery who is far more than she seems...a grotesque, ancient monster bent on a mission of retribution. When these three collide, a new standard of suspense is born. The legend of the Golem of Prague has endured through the ages, a creature fashioned by a 16th-century rabbi to protect his congregation, now lying dormant in the garret of a synagogue. But the Golem is dormant no longer....

The Murderer's Daughter: A Novel

Brilliant, beautiful, and stunningly effective, psychologist Dr. Grace Blades has a special gift for treating troubled souls and healing tormented psyches - perhaps because she bears her own invisible scars. Only five years old when she witnessed her parents die in a bloody murder-suicide, Grace took refuge in her towering intellect and found comfort in the loving couple who adopted her. But as an adult, Grace's accomplished professional life vies with a covert, high-risk dark side, played out harrowingly. And when Grace's two worlds shockingly converge, her past returns with a vengeance.

The Conspiracy Club

When his brief, passionate romance with nurse Jocelyn Banks is cut short by her kidnapping and brutal murder, Dr. Jeremy Carrier is left emotionally devastated, haunted by his lover's grisly demise and warily eyed by police still seeking a prime suspect in the unsolved slaying. To escape the pain, he buries himself in his work as staff psychologist at City Central Hospital, only to be drawn deeper into a waking nightmare when more women turn up murdered in the same gruesome fashion as Jocelyn Banks.

Publisher's Summary

Masterly storytelling and expert insight into the darkest of human compulsions make number-one New York Times best-selling author Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware novels as compelling as they are addictive. And just when you think he has taken his spellbinding tales of mystery and psychological suspense to the limit, withDeception he takes a bold leap into terrifying and uncharted new territory.

Her name is Elise Freeman, and her chilling cry for help to whoever may be listening comes too late to save her. On a DVD found near her lifeless body, the emotionally and physically battered woman chronicles a year-and-a-half-long ordeal of monstrous abuse at the hands of three sadistic tormentors. But even more shocking than the lurid details is the revelation that the offenders, like their victim, are teachers at one of L.A.s most prestigious prep schools. With Elise now dead by uncertain means, homicide detective Milo Sturgis is assigned to probe the hallowed halls of Windsor Prep Academy. And if ever he could use Dr. Alex Delaware's psychological prowess, its now.

From the get-go, this case promises to be an uphill climb for truth and a down and dirty fight for justice. Allegations of rape, assault, and possibly murder at this esteemed institution renowned for molding Ivy Leaguers make for a social and political time bombespecially given that one of the students has connections high up in City Hall. As the scandal-conscious elite of L.A. close ranks around Windsor Prep, Alex and Milo must penetrate the citadel of wealth and scholarship to expose the hidden anguish, dirty secrets, and deadly sins festering among societys manor-born. But power and position are not easily surrendered, for that's when the best and the brightest turn brutal and ugly. Searching for predators among the privileged, Alex and Milo may well be walking into a highly polished death trap.

The plot is quite inventive and interesting. The characters are easy to follow and transparent. The action moves swiftly in an uncomplicated way, and all "clues" are eventually explained and rationalized. Nicely read. I was in the mood for sheer entertainment and didn't want to think too much. This book satisfied me, but it is not memorable.

I'm not sure why they call this the Alex Delaware Series. It would be like calling the Hound of the Baskervilles an installment in the Dr. Watson series. That minor criticism aside, this was an average book that had some interesting characters and good dose of sarcasm and humor, courtesy of Milo Sturgis. Sturgis and Delaware seem to have a knack for deducing mysteries out of thin air but hearing them discuss various theories as to whodunit and why makes for a good story. This is one of those books that will hold your interest for its entire length because it is about the right length. But I will probably call it quits after my second listen in the Delaware series. Too many other good books and authors out there.

Kellerman moves further away from his Psychological background as this mystery touches on the privilege of the rich, what the privileged will do to get their offspring into the "right" college; and the people who enable the process. An instructor at a private school for the children of LA's most privileged (including the Chief of Police) is found dead after accusing several staff members of sexual harassment and the chief wants Milo on the case; the problem is that though he wants it solved, he doesn't want him to be Milo while he's solving it. This is a situation that can't last and before long Lt. Sturgis is doing it the way he always does it. He discovers grade selling and the way slackers pull 1480's on their SAT's and those who profit from the idea that getting into the right college is the be all end all for eighteen year olds. Kellerman as usual s able to step back and gaze at the foibles of those around him with a professional eye and yet with a caring heart as well.

I really liked it. There is always a twist in these books that I don't see coming. The narration was lacking in a few places. It's like it didn't match. However, you could get past that:-) I recommend this book.

This was not a "full of surprises" kind of mystery, but it was a good listen. Since, I work in college admissions, I especially enjoyed the send-up of prep schools and the pressure on adolescents to attend the "right school."

I thought the book was great. Det. Sturgis did play a bigger role than Dr. Delaware, but that wasn't a minus to me. The characters were interesting, and the narrator was great. I sometimes have trouble keeping the characters straight in audio books, but the narrator gave them all such distinctive voices, it was easy. Enjoyed it a lot!

At odds with the others who have reviewed at this point. Delaware & Co are characters I faithfully look forward to in each new installment. Predictable? Yep. So is dinner at my favorite dive, but it doesn't deter me from going. Kellerman is truly a master with the English language moreso than many popular authors these days - he truly paints with his words. Rubenstein is also just as ingrained as the voice(s) of these characters. Read elsewhere that this was the 25th Delaware novel - keep 'em coming.